Helps the writing process.

It's very, very quiet in the office today. I have taken, at 11:00 a.m., exactly three phone calls and the second one was a wrong number. There is no one else here and it's going to be quiet for the next 3 days.

It's perfect for writing.

I worked yesterday on the ending to the World of Warcraft story I've been working on for almost a full year, with 6 months in the middle when it didn't seem very important. I'm up to Chapter 14 but the ending called to me and I finished the final battle chapter last night and the last chapter of the novel this morning. Now, I just need to connect Chapter 14 with these two.

I realized yesterday, that I tend to work much better if I have something to munch on. It needs to be of the "finger food" variety. I always have tea or juice or water or soda, but I kept looking yesterday for something to nibble and I don't have anything in my office desk. There are plusses to that as I don't spend my days idly nibbling on M&Ms.

Back over Memorial Day, the last time I did a huge swing through the grocery, I chanced upon these Jelly Bellies. The idea of soda flavored beans was appealing so I bought a bag. It lay unopened on the kitchen table for a month and a half and then I decided to try them. I had difficulty opening the top and when I did, the bag popped, sending a shower of jelly bellies everywhere. It wasn't the whole bag. I scooped up what fell on the table and tossed what went elsewhere.

The cats thought the jellies on the floor were great fun to chase around. I still find the occasional one that someone batted into the living room. For the last few weeks, however, I've been finding them here. I'll scoop cat food out of the container, pour it into the bowl and, oh look, jelly belly. In this case, I missed one and the girls simply ate around it.

Today, I decided my lunch would be cut strawberries, pea pods with dressing in which to dip them, yogurt and 2 peanut butter sandwiches. Unfortunately, my bread is all moldy so there are no sandwiches. I knew I was going to work on the story, so, seeing the bag of jelly bellies on the table, I added it to the lunch bag.

Do they help with the writing process? Sort of. When I get in the writing zone, I can forget to eat and drink. I'll crank out words, 15,000 in the past two days, grab a sip and couple of beans, and dive back in. Do they taste like the sodas they supposedly represent? Kind of. They do last longer than a 12 ounce can of them, however. I won't eat this whole bag. It's way too sugary. It's just the whole mastication process seems to coincide with the thinking process.

Now that I have blogged for the day, it's back to the novel. Chapter 15 explains more of the story but I have to take a group of people to find the demon. Time to write another battle scene.

Beverage: Scottish Blend tea

Deb